City's New Library Branches Increase Access, Convenience

The Hampton Public Library system recently spent $90,000 in capital outlay to move and revamp its Northampton and Willow Oaks branches, moving the former from an elementary school cafeteria to a shopping center, and relocating the latter from one shopping center front to another.

It seems that for these branches, the notion of the solemn, aloof library has gone the way of the of the steely-eyed librarian, checking out in favor of relocating in suburbia's hubs.

"Libraries should be placed in visual and accessible places," says Douglas Perry, director of the Hampton Public Library system. "We want to be seen, easy to use and geographically placed so no one has a long drive to the library."

The Northhampton branch moved from Forrest Elementary School to reopen at the Pavilion Square Shopping Center on March 17. The Willow Oaks branch celebrated its grand opening April 14, around the corner from its smaller space at the Willow Oaks Village Square Shopping Center.

The moves approximately doubled the libraries' sizes, with the Willow Oaks branch growing to 6,650 square feet and Northhampton swelling to 8,256 square feet. The bigger branches increase the city's total library square footage to 75,000 square feet.

The bigger numbers mean more office space, new meeting rooms, larger study areas, and shelf and stack space. And so far, the new locations mean added convenience and increased library usage.

Patronage at the Northampton branch has increased 60 percent since it reopened at its new site, a similar surge to the 144 percent increase the Phoebus Library enjoyed when it reopened in a new facility last fall, said Perry. It's too soon to tell whether Willow Oaks usage has changed significantly, he added.

Northampton librarian Virginia Cotter attributes the increase to the library's high-profile in the shopping center at a bend in Big Bethel Road, where a lit sign over the parking lot proclaims the branch's presence.

"We always had problems being found," says Cotter, whose library shares street frontage with a video store and an insurance company. "This way, there is no missing us."